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We learned a few things in the 2016 American League and National League Division Series.

We learned it will be the Cleveland Indians vs. Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Championship Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series. All four teams won three games to advance, which I suppose is another lesson in case anyone's new to this whole postseason baseball thing.

WASHINGTON — Scorecards were savaged. Heads were spinning. Benches and bullpens were dwindling.

And that was all well before Clayton Kershaw talked his way into the ninth inning of the most backward, brilliant, incredible, pulsating, unusual and exhausting game the Los Angeles Dodgers may have ever created.

"No, no; never in my wildest dreams," Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said—champagne splashing, Chicago Cubs awaiting—when asked whether he's ever seen anything like it.

Another year, another dispiriting finish for the Washington Nationals.

Yes, the Nats pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to the maximum five games in the National League Division Series despite key injuries in the lineup and starting rotation.

Clayton Kershaw, closer.

Hey, why not? After a division series round where bullpens mattered more than ever, why not end it all with the best pitcher of our generation coming out of the bullpen to get the final two outs?

Kershaw did it, finishing off the Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals. Their matchup was the only division series to last the full five games.

Not that any of these series were easy.

It was truly all hands on deck for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5. 

Clayton Kershaw got the save on one day of rest after starting Game 4, following 2.1 strong innings from Kenley Jansen out of the bullpen. Six different pitchers took the mound for the Dodgers on Thursday as they secured a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals in a winner-take-all battle.

The Chicago Cubs have been waiting for nearly a full year to get back to the National League Championship Series.

Last year, that exercise did not go well for Joe Maddon's team, as they were swept in four games by the Mets and denied the opportunity to go to their first World Series since 1945.

The Los Angeles Dodgers staved off elimination in Game 4 of the National League Division Series with a 6-5 victory on Tuesday, setting up a decisive Game 5 with the Washington Nationals on Thursday night.

The Dodgers took Game 1 of the series by a score of 4-3, but the Nationals picked up back-to-back wins after Game 2 was pushed back due to rain.

Terry Collins won't commit to the New York Mets beyond the 2017 season.

The 67-year-old manager said Thursday the upcoming season could be his last, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. 

"I just need to re-evaluate at the end of this coming year what's going on, where I am, how I'm feeling," Collins said. "I've always said a lot of it will be dictated by how I'm feeling. This was a tough year."

Madison Bumgarner has a team-friendly contract that features two team options for 2018 and 2019, but that's not stopping the San Francisco Giants from getting an early start on extension talks with their ace.

Continue for updates.

Giants Want to Talk Extension

Thursday, Oct. 13

The Division Series clash between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers is the only one from either league to go the distance. That's not much of a surprise given how evenly matched the clubs were coming into the postseason.